---
title: Export your organization
---

import {Steps} from "@astrojs/starlight/components";

import FlattenedSteps from "../../components/FlattenedSteps.astro";
import NavigationSteps from "../../components/NavigationSteps.astro";
import ZulipNote from "../../components/ZulipNote.astro";
import AdminOnly from "../include/_AdminOnly.mdx";
import ExportWithoutConsentRequirements from "../include/_ExportWithoutConsentRequirements.mdx";
import NotHumanExportFormat from "../include/_NotHumanExportFormat.mdx";
import OwnerOnly from "../include/_OwnerOnly.mdx";

<ZulipNote>
  If you're self-hosting Zulip, you may want to check out the
  documentation on [server export and import][export-and-import] or
  [server backups][production-backups].
</ZulipNote>

Zulip has high quality export tools that can be used to migrate between the
hosted Zulip Cloud service and your own servers. Two types of data exports are
available for all Zulip organizations:

* [**Export of public
  data**](#export-for-migrating-to-zulip-cloud-or-a-self-hosted-server):
  Complete data for your organization *other than* [private
  channel](/help/channel-permissions#private-channels) messages and [direct
  messages](/help/direct-messages). This export includes user settings and
  channel subscriptions.
* [**Standard
  export**](#export-for-migrating-to-zulip-cloud-or-a-self-hosted-server):
  Everything in the export of public data, plus all the [private
  channel](/help/channel-permissions#private-channels) messages and [direct
  messages](/help/direct-messages) that members who have
  [allowed](#configure-whether-administrators-can-export-your-private-data)
  administrators to export their private data can access.

Two additional types of data exports are available to **corporate** [Zulip Cloud
Standard][plans] and [Zulip Cloud Plus][plans] customers:

[plans]: https://zulip.com/plans/

* [**Full export without member consent**](#full-export-without-member-consent):
  All the data in the organization.
* [**Compliance export**](#compliance-export): A targeted, human-readable export
  of messages matching some combination of criteria (e.g., sender, recipient,
  message keyword, or timestamp).

## Export for migrating to Zulip Cloud or a self-hosted server

<AdminOnly />

<NotHumanExportFormat />

<FlattenedSteps>
  <NavigationSteps target="settings/data-exports-admin" />

  1. Click **Start export**.
  1. Select the desired **Export type**.
  1. Click **Start export** to begin the export process. After a few minutes,
     you'll be able to download the exported data from the list of
     data exports.
  1. Use [Zulip's logical data import tool][import-only] to import your data into
     a self-hosted server. For Zulip Cloud imports, contact
     [support@zulip.com](mailto:support@zulip.com).
</FlattenedSteps>

<ZulipNote>
  Generating the export can take up to an hour for organizations
  with a large number of messages or uploaded files.
</ZulipNote>

## Full export without member consent

<OwnerOnly />

<NotHumanExportFormat />

<ExportWithoutConsentRequirements />

<Steps>
  1. Email [support@zulip.com](mailto:support@zulip.com) with your
     organization's `zulipchat.com` URL, asking for a **full export without
     member consent**. Please send the email from the same address
     that you use to sign in to Zulip, so that Zulip Support can verify
     that you are an owner of the organization.
  1. Once your authority to request the export has been verified, you will receive
     an archive in the `.tar.gz` format containing all the information for your
     organization.
  1. Import the tarball using [Zulip's logical data import tool][import-only].
</Steps>

If you self-host Zulip, a full export without member consent can be performed
[by your server's administrator][export-and-import].

## Compliance export

<OwnerOnly />

This type of export is recommended if you plan to work with the exported data
directly (e.g., reading messages or processing them with a script), rather than
importing the export into a new Zulip organization.

<ExportWithoutConsentRequirements />

<Steps>
  1. Email [support@zulip.com](mailto:support@zulip.com) asking for a **compliance
     export**. Please send the email from the same address that you use to sign in
     to Zulip, so that Zulip Support can verify that you are an owner of the
     organization. You will need to specify:
     1. The `zulipchat.com` URL for your organization
     1. What limits you would like on the export.  Currently, compliance
        exports can apply any combination of the following filters:
        * Message sender
        * Message recipient
        * Message contents, by specific keywords
        * Sent timestamp before, after, or between dates
          If you need other limits, please ask.
     1. Your preferred format for the export: CSV or JSON.
     1. Whether or not you want to receive copies of all attachments referenced in
        the exported messages.
  1. You will receive the requested information once your authority to request the
     export has been verified.
</Steps>

If you self-host Zulip, a compliance export can be performed [by your server's
administrator][compliance-exports-self-hosted].

## Configure whether administrators can export your private data

<FlattenedSteps>
  <NavigationSteps target="settings/account-and-privacy" />

  1. Under **Privacy**, toggle **Let administrators export my private data**.
</FlattenedSteps>

## Related articles

* [Move from Zulip Cloud to self-hosting](/help/cloud-to-self-hosting)
* [Move from self-hosting to Zulip Cloud](/help/move-to-zulip-cloud)
* [Change organization URL](/help/change-organization-url)
* [Deactivate your organization](/help/deactivate-your-organization)
* [Import organization into a self-hosted Zulip server][import-only]
* [Data export for self-hosted organizations][export-and-import]
* [Compliance exports for self-hosted organizations][compliance-exports-self-hosted]

[production-backups]: https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/stable/production/export-and-import.html#backups

[export-and-import]: https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/stable/production/export-and-import.html#data-export

[import-only]: https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/stable/production/export-and-import.html#import-into-a-new-zulip-server

[compliance-exports-self-hosted]: https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/stable/production/export-and-import.html#compliance-exports
